February 9, 2018
Issue 6, Volume 11
It's All About the Choices!     
          
Greetings and Happy Friday

 Please enjoy our weekly newsletter!
 
News Items:
  • Building a Future in Science with Construction Based Toys
  • Novel Genetic Variants for ADHD Linked to Educational Attainment
  • How Skype is Helping Kids with Autism
  • Outdoor Instruction Makes Students More Open to Learning
  • Children Affected by Prenatal Drinking More Numerous Than Previously Estimated
  • FDA Grants 'Breakthrough Therapy' Status To Potential Autism Drug
PediaStaff News and Hot Jobs 
  • Hot, New Job! School-Based SLP - Livermore, CA
  • Hot, New Job: Community Based BCBA and BCaBA - California Locations
  • Hot, New Job: Early Intervention Physical Therapist - Charlotte, NC
Therapy Activities, Tips and Resources
  • Valentine's Day Literacy Activity - Playdoh Conversation Heart Stamping
  • Valentine's Fluffy Slime Recipe
  • Books About Penguins 
Articles and Special Features 
  • Autism Corner: For Those With ASD, Improv Classes Can Aid Communication
  • OT Corner: 11 Environmental Factors Hindering Your Students' Handwriting
  • SLP Corner: Mini Shopping Carts in Speech Language Therapy
  • Pediatric Therapy Corner: Anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorders
Feel free to contact us with any questions about our openings or items in these pages. Have you discovered our RSS feed? Click on the orange button below to subscribe to all our openings and have them delivered to your Feed Reader!  Don't have an RSS Feed Reader set up? Sign up at Blogtrottr and have our blog posts delivered right to your email.

Have a great weekend and Take Care!

Heidi Kay and the PediaStaff Team
8

The Career Center

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Recent Occupational Therapist and COTA Jobs 

Building a Future in Science with Construction Based Toys
[Source: Science Daily]

"The human brain is malleable and trainable," said Anne Gold, lead author and director of CIRES Education & Outreach. "By providing spatial training to K-12 children, and providing spatially demanding toys before schooling starts, we can give them the opportunity to develop skills important in fields like science, technology, engineering and math."

Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog
Novel Genetic Variants for ADHD Linked to Educational Attainment
[Source:  Science Daily]

"In this study, we aimed to explore the genetic architectures of ADHD and educational attainment and to what degree they have a shared genetic basis," says Alexey A. Shadrin, lead author of the study and postdoctoral research fellow at the Norwegian Centre for Mental Disorders Research (NORMENT). "Our findings may increase the understanding of the genetic risk underlying ADHD and its connection to educational attainment, which has important socioeconomic and health-related life implications," Dr. Shadrin explains.

Read the Rest of This Article Through a Link on our Blog 
How Skype is Helping Kids with Autism  
[Source: The Sacramento Bee via Reading Rockets]

Three times a week, Kristen Lundstrom opens her laptop from her home in Carroll, Iowa and speaks to a speech therapist at UC Davis' MIND Institute about ways to help her 14-year-old son, Tyson, grow his vocabulary and better communicate. Tyson has Fragile X Syndrome, which is a genetic condition that causes a range of developmental issues and learning disabilities.

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog
Outdoor Instruction Makes Students More Open to Learning
[Source: Science Daily]

Between 2014 and 2016, approximately 300 students participated in the program which is based on the curriculum for science subjects in secondary level I. Students are prepared for the one-week stay in the classroom. This is then continued on site during the research week, culminating in a two-day research expedition with experiments.

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog
Children Affected by Prenatal Drinking More Numerous Than Previously Estimated 
[Source: Science Daily]
Researchers found a significant number of children across four regions in the United States were determined to have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The new findings may represent more accurate prevalence estimates of FASD among the general population than prior research.
The study is published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog
FDA Grants 'Breakthrough Therapy' Status To Potential Autism Drug
[Source: Disability Scoop]
A major pharmaceutical company says it has received a designation from the Food and Drug Administration to help expedite what could be the first drug to treat the core symptoms of autism.
Swiss drug maker Roche said this week that the FDA has granted its breakthrough therapy designation for the development of balovaptan, a medication with the potential to improve "core social interaction and communication" in those with autism.

Read the Rest of this Article Through a Link our Blog
Are you looking for a unique and special experience where you will meet the nicest people, taste the most delicious wines, away from high- priced wine country?  If yes, the Livermore Valley is for you. This valley offers a beautiful rural landscape, vibrant downtown district, great food, and wonderful people. It's the perfect location to work, live and play.

Learn About / Apply for This Job on our Blog
Featured Job of the Week:  Community Based BCBA and BCaBA - CA 
Think all BCBA openings are equal?  This might be a refreshing break from the typical.   We are seeking Board Certified Behavioral Analysts (BCBAs) and Board Certified Assistant Behavioral Analysts for this unique opportunity in the south bay and beyond, California.  We have openings in Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties of California.

Learn About / Apply for This Job Through a Link on our Blog
Are you a pediatric PT who likes to make your own schedule? We are seeking a Pediatric Physical Therapist to work Early Intervention in Charlotte (Mecklenburg County).

*  Full-time community-based caseload with various diagnoses
*  Family-operated company with supportive staff; Orientation available
*  W2 Fee-For-Service and benefits including PTO, CEUs, 401k, etc.

Qualifications: You will need to hold a Bachelor's Degree (or higher) in Physical Therapy and a current state license (or be eligible for same).

Learn About / Apply for This Job on our Blog 
Valentine's Day Literacy Activity - Playdoh Conversation Heart Stamping  
[Source: No Time for Flash Cards]

Incorporating Valentine's Day is a fun way to make skill building more fun. This activity as we did it is for children familiar with letters and interested in how things are spelled. This is a stage some children enter into very young, like 3-4 or not until later like 6. That is why this is a great free choice activity, and I have a wonderful way to differentiate it for preschool as well. You can also use sight words if you are working on them. We just had fun duplicating the sayings on conversation hearts but feel free to adapt this to your specific learner's needs.

Read the Rest of this Post Through a Link on Our Blog
Valentine's Fluffy Slime Recipe  
[Source: The Imagination Tree]

Make some gorgeous, soft and stretchy fluffy slime to give as gifts to friends on Valentines Day. Valentine's Fluffy Slime recipe takes less than two minutes to make and is SO much fun to play with!

This is a fun twist on the easy peasy slime recipe using UK ingredients that I have written about before.

Read All About this Activity Through a Link on our Blog
Books About Penguins
[Source:  Pre-K Pages]

Penguins seem to be a favorite for preschoolers. Children enjoy seeing them and learning about them. The books on this list would be a great addition to your classroom library for a  winter theme, penguin and bird theme, or just for fun reading time. Both nonfiction and fiction books are included on this list.

Visit this Post Through a Link on our Blog
Autism Corner: Improv Classes Can Aid Communication
[Source: Disability Scoop]

At the start of a recent improv class, some teens excitedly joined in while others sat off to the side. Others said they'd rather go home. But after a few games, giggles and encouragement from teachers, all the students participated. Parents in the audience clutched their bellies with laughter and beamed with pride.


OT Corner:   11 Environmental Factors Hindering Your Students' Handwriting
[Source:  OT School House]

As we continue with our January theme of handwriting, I wanted to share a list of environmental factors that could be inhibiting or even preventing your students for effectively writing in class.
Before I get to the list and some supporting comments, I want to point out just why looking at the contextual environment is so important when it comes to handwriting.
Can you imagine writing a 5-paragraph essay on a desk the size of a small picture frame? Now imagine writing it while relaxing in a bean bag, or even laying on the floor. These would be uncomfortable positions, right?


SLP Corner:  Mini Shopping Carts in Speech Language Therapy
[Source:  SLP Natalie Snyders]

Have you seen these adorable miniature shopping carts before?  I spotted them a while ago at Hobby Lobby (similar here on Amazon or Etsy) and had to grab them for use in therapy!  I wanted to share some ways I have been using them in therapy.  
  1. These are great for use with sensory bins when targeting articulation, phonology, or pronouns!  As my students "discover" each individual item hidden in my different sensory bins, we pretend they are shopping for the item.  I'll pick a set word or phrase, depending on their target, that they have to say before placing the item in the cart (such as "I would like a ___" for a student working on the L, or "She wants a ___" for a student 
  Read the Rest of This Article on our Blog

Pediatric Therapy Corner:  Anxiety and Autism Spectrum Disorders
[Source:  Indiana Resource Center for Autism]

Contributed by Anna Merrill, Graduate Assistant

Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) will receive another diagnosis at some point in their development.   In a 2008 study, seventy percent of a sample of children with ASD ages 10 to 14, had also been diagnosed with another disorder.  Forty-one percent had been diagnosed with two or more additional disorders (Simonoff, et al).  These additional disorders, or comorbid diagnoses, can at times be extremely debilitating for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.  The most common types of diagnoses are those related to anxiety.

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